


The Phantom Princess

by ArtyMyella



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, British Female Character, British Slang, Comedy, Fantasy, Gen, Ghosts, Magic, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Mythology, Original Universe, Originally Posted Elsewhere, United Kingdom, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 08:53:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23468713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtyMyella/pseuds/ArtyMyella
Summary: Tattiana Sewell, initially, is just like any common girl with a witty, sassy but compassionate personality. She has loving (if not mildly busy) parents, two great siblings, and two best friends at her school. But her life will take a turn to the bizarre once she comes into contact with her hometown's largest secret: the ghosts from the town's old mythology are real.Once a certain ghost called Espectra and titled The Phantom Princess comes, asking for her help to defeat the evil ghosts around the town, Tattiana is unable to hide that this cloaked spirit might be wise and savvy (even if she sounds and looks emotionless), but also really secretive. She'll need to use her wits to solve problems and find out the truth about her ally, and also who is exactly pulling the strings, or else the shattering of the thin barrier of life and afterlife will cause chaos to both worlds.





	1. Real, Supernatural - Part 1

_Tattiana_ _used to be a common girl. Just like any other. She lived with her middle-class family in a simple but comfy home at_ _Kummitus_ _, United Kingdom. She had intelligence and creativity above the average and a witty, sassy but compassionate personality with sarcastic humor._

_Her father took until the afternoon to come back from his work, but he had his affection. Her mother was a hard and honest worker, her older sister was a coward but lovable, and her little brother could be annoying, but friendly._

_In school, she was a neutral: not the most popular girl, but not an outcast neither. And she had two friends to back her up. There weren't a lot of things to complain about._

_Until one day, where her world would turn upside down._

* * *

"*yawn*...another Friday!", Tattiana stated, as she got up from her bed and looked at the window. The sunlight suggested the beginning of a sunny day, which was the kind of day she loved. It was March, only three months remained for her birthday, and she couldn't wait for her special day.

But for now, she just had to wait.

The brown-haired girl got up, wore her school's aquamarine colored uniform, black jeans, and blue sneakers. She held her hair in a single bun, her favorite hairstyle, before going downstairs to get breakfast.

"Hey, Nath.", Tattiana greeted her 15-years old sister by the nickname, as she settled on the kitchen's chair to eat eggs.

"Hello, Tattiana!", Natasha, the older sister of Tattiana, greeted back. "Do you got any idea of whacks we should do in the weekend?", she continued, twirling her brown hair with a wavy and curly style she inherited from her mother.

"Gee, I took the whole week guessing.", Tattiana replied with sarcasm, before switching her slightly annoyed face to a smile. "But no, really, I didn't think about that yet. That's a bit of a problem.", she continued before chomping down the third and last egg.

"Tattiana! Natasha!", the mother of the two girls called, coming back to the kitchen holding one of the hands of the sister's little brother, Scott. "Today you two will bring your little brother to his school. Be sure to keep him safe, okay?"

Since Tattiana completed 12-years in the past year, she began to share the same high school as her older sister. And since Scott's primary school was in the middle of the way of the school for the two sisters, it wasn't the biggest problem. The problem was to handle Scott's wild personality and mildly unpredictable demands.

"Of course, mom.", Tattiana said, setting her empty plate aside in the table and walking towards Scott to ruffle his slightly spiky, black hair. "We'll keep our little brother safe."

"Don't forget to learn; it's a virtue that will help you three.", the sibling's mother stated, giving a cheek kiss for each one of them before bidding goodbye and setting the three outside.

"Ya' better not mess this up, big sis one and big sis two! Or I'll tell mom!", Scott threatened half-playfully, giving a light punch on each of his sister's knees, earning awkward laughter from them.

As the siblings walked through the streets of Kummitus, they discussed their possible plans for Saturday and Sunday: either play pretend with the few friends each of them had, or ask their parents to take them to the museum or the amusement park. Before a discussion could happen between the siblings (Tattiana and Natasha wanted to see the new museum attraction while Scott wanted to ride the park's rollercoaster), they reached the school of the younger brother, signed " _Kummitus_ _Kindergarten_ " by the bold letters.

"Guess we gotta settle this bogabloob once we get back home.", Natasha said, using another weird word. "Bustle there, little bro!"

"I'll make sure of it!", Scott promised with a wink, before rushing inside the school, waving bye-bye to his sisters.

After waving bye-bye back to their little brother, the two sisters continued their way until their school. A sign with a more professional style gave out the name of the school, " _Central_ _Kummitus_ _High School_ ", and students were scattered around the park, waiting for the school's gates to open. By the time the sisters thought of sitting on a bench, the gates finally opened, and soon they made part of the crowd that desperately ran for their classrooms. Tattiana went to her Year 8's classroom, and Natasha went to her Year 11's one.

That Friday's routine was initially the same as any other in her class: English, Maths and Art. Once recess was announced by the bell of a ring, Tattiana calmly took out her snack and left, unlike the rest of her classmates who ran wildly to the class' door. As she tried to find her older sister in the middle of the students, she suddenly felt a crumpled paper hit her cheek. Groaning in pain, she turned around to find the responsible for the hit and found out her "archnemesis and worst nightmare"...or what this girl considered herself to be.

The girl's name was Caroline St. Alphonse (or, how Tattiana, her few friends and her siblings sometimes liked to nickname off, "Carol the Annoying"). She was the typical preppy girl, with dirty blond hair held in a high ponytail, diamond-shaped earrings, fake blushes, light pink lipstick, and high-heel purple boots, combined with a sassy, classy but bratty and moody personality.

For a reason no one could truly understand, after meeting Tattiana, Caroline declared herself to be the 12-years old's mortal enemy, due to the simpler interests and lifestyle of Tattiana contrasting against her love for fashion and makeup, always backed up by her rich parents. Meanwhile, Tattiana never really cared for the rich girl's threats, and always left before a fight could happen, leaving behind a sarcastic remark. And it wouldn't be that different this time.

"Hello there, Egg-Hair!", Caroline mockingly greeted, pointing out the single bun of Tattiana, in the middle of giggles.

"Yeah, I know. But maybe my hair isn't the only one with a silly hairstyle in this school.", Tattiana calmly stated before continuing her way to the school park. Only after some seconds, Caroline got the remark, making her scream in rage.

After finding her sister Natasha in the school's park, Tattiana enjoyed pacifically the rest of the recess...except when she spotted some students being oppressed by Caroline and her two sidekicks, two redheaded twin girls completely dependent on her. Tattiana didn't care at all about the supposed "rivalry" between her and Caroline, but she couldn't help but feel a twist of pity on her stomach. However, if she did anything about it, Caroline would probably take the "rivalry" to a whole new baseline.

When the bell announced the end of recess and the return of everybody for their respective class, History was the last subject to be presented in Tattiana's classroom, after Science. Ms. Marshall, the History teacher, wrote the title of the subject on the school board: " _Kummitus's_ _Old Mythology_ ". The title woke up a strange curiosity on Tattiana.

"The old mythology of this town, Kummitus, is full of figures we can currently identify to be ghosts and other spectra.", Ms. Marshall explained, in her professional-like tone. "The people from the past spread through generations stories about people that, after death, became like deities and spiritual creatures. It was largely believed that depending on who the dead where in life, and how they died and were buried, they can become anything in the specter world known as Scinnlæcee Ríce."

After the introduction of the work, Ms. Marshall began to explain about some of the main figures of the mythology: Alcott the Perfect, believed to be the first king of the region after death and the leader of the specters, his wife Brenda the Shining, and the two's court. While Tattiana had some interest in the old mythology of her hometown, keeping up some names was being a tough job for her.

"Now, class, you must do a work of three people, and find one of this mythology's stories to write it down and explain the moral about it. You have to give to me in this month's last Friday.", Ms. Marshall explained. Luckily, Tattiana knew the two right people to help her: her two best friends.

Tattiana whistled, a signal she shared with her friends to call them next to her, and the two understood, picking their backpacks and going to her table. Their names were Ashley and Melusine.

Ashley was the tallest of the group, and with her mind drifting off into the clouds most of the time, but a social butterfly of the first class. She was a dark-brown skinned girl with darker lips, and she knew Tattiana (whom she loved to nickname "Tatty") since they were around nine. Meanwhile, Tattiana met Melusine at the entrance of the high school, a bit before she entered a violet, blue and black colored goth lifestyle. Despite being apathetic to nearly everything, she was friendly to and tolerated both Tattiana and Ashley.

"So, we gotta work with a...old mythology, right?", Ashley said with mild confusion, scratching her head.

"No, Ms. Marshall probably said something else.", Tattiana said, sarcastically, before sharing a peal of laughter with Ashley, who was already acquainted with her best friend's sarcasm. Meanwhile, Melusine didn't laugh at all, instead, she just said, with a more bitter sarcasm: "Probably like, let's work with colorful ponies.", interrupting the laughter.

"Well...let's check out the library Monday.", Tattiana suggested. "Something about this mythology gotta be there."

"JEEZ! That's brilliant!", Ashley exaggeratedly said. "I bet we are gonna find a lot of stuff about that guy, uh...who's the most important guy?"

"...Alcott.", Melusine reluctantly answered, rolling her eyes, before the bell could announce the withdrawal of the school's students.

"See you on Monday, girls. Don't forget!", Tattiana said, offering a triple fist bump. Both Ashley and Melusine accepted it with glad smiles, and it was one of the rare moments the latter smiled without any sarcasm.

The rest of the day went normally once Tattiana caught up with her older sister Natasha and went back home to find her little brother Scott, who was already brought home by the sibling's mother. Tattiana read her fantasy books in her room, while Tattiana locked herself on her phone to talk with her friends and Scott played...either with his toys or with something that had high chances of causing on him a bruise or two.

That was a type of normal day for Tattiana, excluding the work she received of researching the mythology of her town. But this day left her lingering with a little question that just got bigger after she picked one of her books, themed around ghosts. _Ghosts are real?_

Ghosts could be scary, comical, or even friendly depending on whatever work she read or watched, but being real wasn't something believable in her opinion. If she asked her sister, her brother, or even her friends about this question, all of them would answer in their own ways, but in the end, all their answers would lead to No. But yet, if she found concrete pieces of evidence, she would probably believe. Probably.

Bedtime came, and Tattiana gave a goodnight to every member of her family before going to bed. On any normal day, she would've fallen asleep. But before she could actually do that, a faint _whoosh_ noise echoed in the house. A mix of fear and apprehensiveness took over the girl, as she got up, in her sleepwear and socks, and opened her room door slowly, to try and not get the attention of whoever did the noise.

Tattiana's house looked friendly and comfy with the lights on, or during the day, but at night, with no lights...it felt scary. But the girl tried to create bravery, and walk down the stairs, to the direction of the living room. Nobody there. She checked the kitchen and the bathroom to find nothing, but when she was about to open the door off and check the rarely used basement, a female voice, that didn't sound like any other she heard, spoke.

" _You need me. I need you. We both need each other's help in this town._ "

Tattiana felt she could regret doing this later, but anyway, she turned around to find out who spoke that mysterious phrase.


	2. Real, Supernatural - Part 2

The owner of the mysterious voice that spoke to Tattiana wasn't like anybody she ever met. It wasn't an animal, but the human features were extremely vague, and it was short. It was a silhouette of black color, with foggy feet, and wearing a cape of dual colors: silver-white on the left, and scarlet on the right. Glowy eyes of lavender color and incredibly human shape were hovering on the "face" of the being.

The first instinct of Tattiana over spotting the being that looked like something from beyond her world was to give a small noise of fear, get her hand off the handle of the basement's door and fall.

"W-who...what?!", Tattiana said in a fearful whisper. She didn't scream to not get the attention of her parents or her siblings...and to not be seen as crazy by neither of them.

" _I know...you are scared. You don't know who, or what I am. And I'll present myself to you by the name._ ", the cloaked being said, without any kind of emotion. " _I am Espectra, the Phantom Princess. Who are you, mortal?_"

"M-my name?... Uhm...", Tattiana replied, raising just a little bit her voice. "...Tattiana...S...Sewell."

" _Tattiana Sewell... a name containing endless potential._ ", "Espectra," said, with a vague hint of focus. Or what could be heard as focus on that otherworldly voice. " _As I said, we need each other in this town. Follow me, to know the answers._ ", she said, before dashing to the house's entrance door and passing it like it was nothing.

After getting up and organizing her thoughts, Tattiana was taken over by disbelief. She was actually talking to a spirit? And above all, a self-proclaimed princess of them?

Tattiana wasn't the kind of person to suffer from hallucinations, mental illness...but yet, it felt too weird to be real. And if it was real, should she trust that ghost? Or it was leading her right into a trap? She had to prepare if the second possibility was real. She got her other backpack, and put on it a flashlight, a small pack of salt and cut garlic; the former to look at the dark and the latter two for the case if the ghost threatened her life. After putting slippers, she opened the window and got out (since the door was closed), in the most silent way she could. Outside, there was the spirit right at the door.

" _Good choice over bringing salt and garlic._ ", the spirit said, with some respect. " _You never know when you'll be ambushed by a ghost that doesn't have good intentions._ "

More questions ran over Tattiana's head thanks to the enigmatic words of Espectra, but as the spirit floated away, she reluctantly followed along, eventually catching up with her.

" _It seems like...you are still scared of me._ ", Espectra said, slowly. It couldn't be told if it was because of reluctance. " _I do have great intentions. You just don't understand yet about what._"

"Yeah, I don't, Miss Espectra.", Tattiana said, trying to sound polite and brave, but letting alot of her fear and confusion slip off. "Why are you leading me through my yard at midnight? Y'know people will think I'm crazy or a sleep-walker, right? Not to count what my parents and my siblings will think of."

" _I think those things are very trivial, but yet I believe you do deserve an answer._ ", the spirit said, stopping and turning to face the 12-years old girl with her glowy, lavender eyes. " _At this moment, your family and neighborhood are in danger._"

"...is this a joke of sorts or...?", Tattiana asked, raising an eyebrow and crooking her head to the left.

" _Not if I am right here._ ", Espectra said, getting a strict tone on her voice that made Tattiana flinch. " _It's not the most powerful of dangers, but yet it's just the signal of many more to come back in this poor town._ "

Before Tattiana could question what the spirit meant, she was suddenly lifted from the ground by something, rolling into the grass of her house's yard. When she brushed off the dirt and looked up, she couldn't help but let out a short-lived scream.

Beings that were one-hundred times more intimidating than Espectra appeared. They had the shape of monstrous skeletons with an armory, a sword, and a shield, and they had dirt covering their helmets, showing they emerged like zombies from the ground. They roared before trying to stab Tattiana with their swords, who avoided rolling backward.

"Nonononono, this is not real, this isn't real...", Tattiana quietly said in despair, trying to deny what was happening to her, before getting up and backing away.

" _You can't run, or else a terrible fate will fall to your family._ ", Espectra stated, floating to the girl's side. " _We have to defeat them, together. As one._ "

"W-wait, how?", Tattiana asked, trying to keep cool as the skeleton-like beings approached both of them. "I don't have anything but intelligence on me!"

" _Then...use this._ ", Espectra stated as her "eyes" closed, and her black, foggy body just...disappeared, leaving behind her dual-colored cloak that glowed with a black aura.

The extremely confused Tattiana would probably start to question about how she could use the cloak of a ghost to deal with other ghosts (or probably demons) trying to put an end to her, but since she didn't seem to have another choice besides risking her family, she put on the cloak, which almost fitted her.

Then, afterward, her vision grew blurry as she began to see shapes, and shades of black and white colors. Her mind grew dizzy, and the confusion just stopped after ten seconds that felt like ten hours.

When she got her proper consciousness back, Tattiana realized three things. One, that the cloak felt bigger than before, and when she looked at her hands, she found out her hands were gray; two, that she felt she had more than one mind and was powerful enough to do anything; and three, that for a moment, the skeleton ghosts looked surprised, but soon recovered and began once again to walk towards her.

" _Now they don't have a chance._ ", Espectra's voice spoke, from within Tattiana's mind. " _Don't hesitate, just extend your hand and concentrate. And before your compassion speaks up...they're not real spirits, with at least hidden emotions; they're too far gone to be reasoned with._ "

Tattiana felt really confused that the cloaked spirit knew she wanted a more civil solution, but still, she extended one of her hands out, closed her eyes, and tried to concentrate...on what? She didn't know what kind of powers the spirit had, and if they were powerful enough-

The small sound of a flame reached her ears, making her open her eyes to find out a purple, ghostly-looking flame on her hand. She pushed it, and it flew towards the skeleton beings, who let out horrified roars as the flame consumed both of them, eroding their armory and bones until only the swords and the shields were left, only to dissipate into dust.

"D-did...what just...?", Tattiana slowly said, just getting more confused.

" _Yes. They are now just a delicacy of the fire._ ", Espectra spoke; Tattiana didn't want to sound rude, but the words, combined with the spirit's nearly emotionless way of speaking made a shiver run down her spine. " _Besides being like any ghost, I have will-o-wisps, the flames of the ghosts._ "

"This isn't permanent, right?", Tattiana asked, with some worry. "I don't think my parents want a ghost middle daughter."

" _It will last as long as you need, in the night or in the darkness._ ", Espectra explained.

With a mix of worry and curiosity to know how she was looking like, Tattiana picked her backpack (which she dropped while running from the skeleton ghosts) and walked inside. She glanced a bit to the swan-shaped clock in the living room, to find out the clock marked 1 AM.

" _Only five hours left for the sunrise._ ", the spirit commented, in the back on her head.

When she looked up at herself in the bathroom's mirror, she couldn't help but let escape you a mildly scared scream; her _entire_ skin was gray, and her eyes were bigger, with the same lavender glow as Espectra's, and no pupils.

"This is...definitively not normal. Ugh.", Tattiana stated, scared at her own appearance.

" _You can take it out. If you want._ ", Espectra said, her tone of voice unshaken. " _But be warned: this isn't the last time this will happen. And neither the last time we'll see each other._ "

"Say...if this is really gonna happen again...you shouldn't be living at my home?", Tattiana questioned.

" _Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha._ ", Espectra laughed; she wasn't laughing sarcastically, or joyfully. This laugh was empty, without a reason. " _And you said before you didn't want your family thinking you're crazy._ "

"No. I mean...well, I'll show to you.", Tattiana said, before going out of the bathroom and opening for sure the door to the basement. She climbed down the stairs to enter a room full of old relics, and cardboard boxes. "The basement is kinda always dark, so you're welcome to stay here...I guess. I still don't really get why my bro and my is are so scared over this place until today.", she explained, before removing the cloak to make the actual Espectra appear again.

" _Your courtesy is very welcome...Tattiana._ ", Espectra said as she floated around the room to inspect it better. " _After all, for now, I'm the only spirit you can trust. It'll take some time before you meet other polite spirits like me. So, value me._ "

"*yawn*...I gotta go to bed before I end getting up early.", Tattiana said, her voice getting heavily tired. "See you soon...I guess."

" _I don't have doubts over our next encounter._ ", Espectra said as Tattiana climbed the stairs, giving a last look at her, before opening it and closing it.

When she got back into her room, Tattiana let her body collapse into the bed as a rush of questions came into her head.

_So, ghosts are apparently real...why Espectra is the Phantom Princess? Why those skeleton ghosts weren't real spirits and too far gone? How really long it would take to find another spirit as friendly...or at least, reliable as Espectra? Should she tell her family and friends about it?_

Tattiana quickly discarded the last question; unless she could give any of the proofs, she would be forced to present Espectra during nighttime. And they would stubbornly think it was a prank of sorts. She had to wait for a chance to show them she couldn't be lying. When?

Only time would tell.


	3. Pop Goes the Bernadette

Tattiana woke up, feeling the sun of Saturday hitting her face and, somehow, giving her strength to get up. The events of the previous night repeated on her head slowly, and she didn't truly accept yet they actually happened. She suspected she could've just had a nightmare of sorts, or a hallucination...or a sleepwalk session. The girl _did_ wake up in the middle of the night after all.

But a shard of her heart believed that what happened in that night was real. She was indeed in danger, and was saved by Espectra, the Phantom Princess...but, since spirits of benevolent and malefic nature were both roaming around her town, how she would find them all? She could find them all?

Before she could get trapped in her tiny world of rising questions, Tattiana jumped out of her bed, tied her hair in a single bun and choose her favorite attire outside of school and formal events: a plain sweater of light turquoise color, light brown pants and silver-colored shoes. Pretty simple, someone could say, but she liked the combination. She opened the door of her room and stepped outside, only to be received by a leg glomp of her little brother.

"Took ya long enough!", Scott said, with a short and nasal giggle received by a petting hand of his middle sister.

"Hehe, yeah...", Tattiana agreed, with an awkward chuckle. "I got very knackered.", she said, trying to hide the events of last night the best way she could.

"Come on, you two.", Natasha said, walking towards her younger siblings with her hand holding her phone and the other adjusting her hot-pink, moon emblazoned half-shoulder shirt. "My parents are gagging for some fun-do in the park. *shivers* They wanna go, right into the haunted house? That's scary!...but we should go anyway."

"Yeah, don't be a mousy, sis!", Scott said, opening a toothy and sassy smile that showed his braces.

"...I gotta get something.", Tattiana suddenly said, rushing to the stairs and then to the basement door, leaving her siblings confused. They barely used the basement except for some games, and it stopped being a minor tradition three years ago, so in their heads, it didn't make sense at all.

But for their middle sister, it made total sense, as she not only wanted to make sure the events of the previous night were real but also bring a secret new friend to aid her if really necessary.

"Espectra?", Tattiana called, in the lowest voice she could, once she closed the door and dwelled into the dark. "...Phantom Princess?"

Calling the spirit by the title was enough to make her appear, from behind cardboard boxes, with her glowy eyes of lavender color.

" _You want to take me in an entertainment event, with your family, if I'm not wrong._ ", Espectra's non-emotive voice echoed. " _I can't enjoy it in a proper way, but I can tell it isn't exactly the reason that you want to bring me along. You don't have to feel too much pity; even the most innocent of all places, like an amusement park, can have a dark side._ "

The girl wouldn't get very surprised if she discovered that one day in the past Espectra was an advisor to a king.

Since the Phantom Princess could only manifest herself within the darkness, Tattiana had to find a way to carry her and keep her safe from the sunlight...and whatever it could do to spirits. Searching through the cardboard boxes and it's contents, she found out an old, dusty leather satchel between some old books, and Espectra simply accepted to use it as her hideout, by transforming into her own dual cloak so she could fit in.

"Dear?", Tattiana's mom called from behind the door, right after Espectra's cloak was fully stocked in the satchel. "Nath, where did she-"

"I'm here!", Tattiana said with a visibly nervous smile, stepping out of the basement before her mother could ask further.

"...Tatty?", Tattiana's father said, calling her by a more lovable version of her name. "Why did you pick that satchel from the basement?"

"To...carry the stuff.", she quickly replied.

"Don't worry about her, papa!", Scott simply shrugged off the weirdness of his slightly older sister with a laugh. "She's just that smart and creative!"

Despite the light teasing, the girl would have to thank her little brother later, for saving her from exposing her ghost "friend", since the two's parents and older sister began to awkwardly laugh over the situation, forgetting to question Tattiana further.

* * *

The Sewell family's car parked on the town's amusement park, whose gold, blue and green colors shined against the sunlight.

"So, we have to go to the haun...teddy house?", Scott asked, struggling to say the word. "Or we can go to the dino ride? Pretty-pretty-pretty-"

"*chuckles*, ok dear.", Ms. Sewell said as she and her husband got out of the car, and her children opened the door of the back seat to jump out of the car. "Besides, the haunted house is new, so let's have a taste of the old things."

"Remember, you can do anything safely on your own!", Mr. Sewell began, handing some pound notes to Natasha. "But Natasha will keep her sibling's safe, Scott won't get in any trouble, and Tattiana...well, as long as you don't do anything wrong with this old satchel, you're ok."

"Understood, dad.", Tattiana simply replied, trying to keep her ghost ally's existence hidden. "I mean, dino rides ain't my cup of tea, but-"

"Let's go!", Mr. Sewell announced cheerfully, as he stepped ahead, his wife following and laughing. Scott and Natasha followed their parents, leaving their sister Tattiana (who rolled her eyes before following them all) as the last on the line.

* * *

For the first minutes of staying in the park with her family, while she enjoyed the rides with them and chatted with them, she ignored the rest of adults and pre-teens while waiting for her best friends to come...and avoid people wanting to touch her satchel. Mr. and Ms. Sewell got caught in a trance of curiosity over a new attraction, not noticing an atmosphere over their children.

"Come on, not-so-big-sister!", Scott said, disappointed over Tattiana's reluctance. "You're being alot more boring and non-interactive than before!", he continued, lightly stepping one of his feet against the ground.

"Why won't you open your satchel?", Natasha asked, in a more worried and sympathetic tone, laying a hand on one of the shoulders of her younger sister.

"Well...", Tattiana gulped, thinking on the most logical lie to tell. "I-"

"I think she got a nasty bug under that old thing!", Caroline said, with a mockery laugh, as she suddenly came in, followed by her minions, the redheaded twins.

"Awww! It's Caroline the Annoying!", Scott winced over catching the sight of his older sister's "rival".

"Don't call me that!... I prefer, Caroline the _Great_.", Caroline protested, with a sassy smile.

"Ms. Caroline", Natasha apprehensively began. "Can...you pretty, please, not bother my sister-"

"Pretty pretty please!", one of the redheads, with a huskier and deeper voice, said.

"Don't bother my stupid sister!", the other, with a more high-pitched and childish toned voice, added. The two redheads laughed like hyenas, while Natasha sighed.

"You leave my sister ALONE!", Scott yelled, ready to charge into Caroline and her minions, before being stopped right on time by Tattiana, who held her struggling little brother in her arms.

"Let's just leave them alone.", Tattiana suggested, carrying an insistent Scott while Natasha walked along with her.

The three siblings walked until they found Tattiana's pair of best friends on their own. Melusine was practically pulling and trying to force Ashley into somewhere.

"Are your friends normally...like that?", Natasha awkwardly asked.

"Only if their interests end up clashing.", Tattiana replied.

"Hey, Tattiana.", Melusine apathetically greeted her second-best friend. "Ashley refuses to check out the new ride with me."

"It's spooky!", Ashley protested.

"S-spooky!?", Natasha squeaked in fear, before shutting out a short, but ear-splitting scream.

"Sis!", Tattiana and Scott said in an indignant tone, together.

"S-sorry but...Tattiana, I have to agree with your f-friend on...this boogy.", Natasha replied, in a calmer tone. "I don't wanna go there."

"*sigh* Look, let's do it.", Tattiana said, both to her siblings and her best friends. "Together. One for all."

This option was stupid, and Tattiana knew it. Being the middle ground between two siblings in most of her casual life and being the middle ground between her best friends in school wasn't the easiest job, much less if she had to be squashed between all four of them, no matter how much she loved them.

But, if not all of them were brave enough to go in a creepy attraction on their own, so be it. She just hoped she could talk to Espectra in the middle of all this madness.

* * *

Turns out, said attraction that terrified her first best friend and her older sister, was the same haunted house Mr. and Ms. Sewell wanted to take their kids on. This, at least, got their oldest daughter to get more relaxed, as she wouldn't fight her fears without adults watching her.

The line of people that the family was forced to go through to enter the house was wide for an amusement park like that, and it turned out the inside made itself look even bigger than the outside, with mini-attractions classified and separated through doors. Once Tattiana and her friends and family were inside, the girl took a chance to get herself far from the family, in a corner without sunlight, to open her satchel gently and let her cloaked, undead ally loose.

"Sorry...", Tattiana immediately apologized, taking some quick glances to see if somebody was watching her. "You know? From, taking too long to free you."

" _It is better than risk my loss straight at the power of the sun._ ", Espectra replied. " _And before you ask...yes, I saw most of the things you saw, from inside this bag. Your friends and family are likable, even if they're not balanced. But the blonde young lady and her lackeys...hmph. Their brains are just pink money, mashed together._ "

"Okayyy...?", Tattiana said, trying to hide she was kind of horrified over Espectra's description of Caroline, even if she agreed she was one of the most annoying people in the world.

" _You should hide me again. I can see they trying to call you in a couple of seconds. But remember..._ ", the phantom said, before suddenly taking the foggy, dark form of a giant hand pointing at a door. When the girl cranked her neck to said direction, she discovered Espectra just pointed at one of the doors inside the ride.

But before she could ask what she meant with that specific ride, Tattiana's mother began to call for her, after realizing her daughter was missing. The 12-years old immediately packed the ghost on the satchel before rushing back to her family and friends.

"Dear, what was that?", Ms. Sewell scolded her middle child, disappointed.

"Sorry, mum...", Tattiana apologized. "But I think I got a ride idea.", she continued, pointing straight to the door Espectra pointed earlier.

"The Elevator of Gloom?!", Scott gasped, excited. "Oh BOY! Mom, dad, take us there, fast, fast!", he demanded with jumps, as Natasha and Ashley fearfully but awkwardly stuck together in each other's side, and Melusine overlooked, uninterested.

"Okay, Cowboy!...", Mr. Sewell promised, trying to calm down his son. "Okay, we will take you there."

Although a minor commotion happened between her parents, and Natasha and Ashley were screaming their fears out loud, Tattiana still didn't change her mind about that door. She still didn't fully trust Espectra, but the ghost sounded wise enough to know something important was inside that ride.

The Elevator of Gloom was an elevator that felt at the speed of sound, with the fictional reason being a mysterious energy shutdown. _They wouldn't be brave enough to make it really fall_ , Tattiana sassily thought to herself. But still, she couldn't help but feel mild discomfort. And the feeling that something was coming.

And it came.

Right as the elevator began to speed up, causing most of the people inside to scream, Tattiana felt dizzy, and the voices slowly sounded more and more far as seconds passed. She accidentally stumbled over the toe of someone she couldn't identify, because her vision was blurry. Then, immediately after her forehead faced the ground, her consciousness dissipated.

...

" _Wake up. Get up, Tattiana Sewell. Fast. ...we are close to danger._ "

The slow, emotionless voice of Espectra, that was trying to snap her back to reality, nearly sinking Tattiana back to sleep. But when the word "danger" was mentioned, Tattiana immediately began to make her efforts in recovering her consciousness.

As she got up and looked at her surroundings, she realized that, first, Espectra managed to escape from the satchel on her own, somehow, and second...a light, pink and initially dim, was flooding the elevator room. Or...was it? She couldn't tell; now, there were no other humans there, and it was decorated like a house from the 18th Century.

"Ugh...", Tattiana moaned, rubbing her forehead with her hand.

" _Watch out; there's danger incoming._ ", Espectra said, in a way that sounded like a casual trip to the grocery store. But still, Tattiana got up and held tightly on her satchel.

The light got brighter, until it became blinding, forcing Tattiana to shield her eyes, and Espectra, to cover her entire being with her cloak. Once the light disappeared, the human girl and the ghost could see a humanoid on their opposite front.

The humanoid had short, ivory hair with a 30's hairstyle, black lipstick and empty eyes, and sharp nails. Her outfit was a purple-violet dress, whose bottom was like a cylinder, with horses magically floating and rotating around it, like the dress was a merry-go-round.

" _Welcome to the bottom of the...well, Elevator of Gloom! As those mortals say._ ", the humanoid woman said, before shutting a smooth laugh.

"Y-you're a ghost?", Tattiana asked, trying her best to hold onto her courage and keep her composture.

" _Yes, Tattiana. She's one of the ghosts I was talking about._ ", Espectra took the front and answered the human girl's question. " _And...I can already judge, she's not on our side._ "

" _Sharp eyes you got there, Phantom Princess!...sadly, you were foolish enough to bring a_ weak _human in your wing._ ", the evil phantom said, with heavy disdain.

" _She's_ not _weak, and much less foolish._ ", Espectra said, with some cold anger slipping on her voice. " _And we are going to protect this place, and consequently, the world, from bobolynes like you._ "

"W-well, yeah! I'm gonna protect my home the best way I can!", Tattiana added out, before buffing and rolling her eyes. "This is surely _not_ getting more confusing."

" _Hmph, whatever..._ ", the humanoid coldly said with a frown, before smiling and speaking as she made hand and arm gestures. " _So be it; I, Adeline, throw upon your souls the wrath of Hydrangea, the one who should be the Queen!_ "

 _Hydrangea...who is...? Huh?!_ , Tattiana's mind immediately began to question.

" _Watch out. Don't attack her directly yet._ ", Espectra began to warn in her unemotive voice, as Tattiana gasped, watching the horses on Adeline's dress getting bigger and bigger, detaching themselves from the dress' gravity range. " _I'm going to take care of her merry-go-round horses; meanwhile, try to find anything in the middle of this barney._ "

"Got it.", Tattiana said, before rushing to a pile of stacked objects.

" _Don't you dare, brat!_ ", Adeline screamed, as one of the horses began neighing and dashing towards Tattiana. She jumped to avoid the tackle and rolled on the ground, as Espectra cast one of her light lavender's will-o'-the-wisps on the horse, burning it to bones, and then ashes.

The Sewell girl immediately began to inspect the objects, as Espectra engaged in magic combat with Adeline and her merry-go-round horses. Finally, after searching through the rumble, Tattiana pulled out an old broom.

"Blimey! That better work...", Tattiana said with mild surprise, before looking at her back, to watch the battle. "...along with my idea. HEY!"

Adeline's remaining horses stopped attacking Espectra and turned towards Tattiana. They glide-ran towards the girl, that jumped out of the way, forcing them to headbutt the mobile and be overwhelmed by it. When one of the horses threatened to get up, she immediately whacked it on the head with her broom, muttering an apology under her breath.

" _Good job._ ", Espectra congratulated the girl, with an amused look on her eyes, before getting serious once again, once she saw Adeline preparing a beam. " _Here...extend that, weird object._ "

Tattiana slowly lifted her broom, and suddenly, the lower part was ignited on lavender fire, that didn't burn it at all. Although it was obvious she had to kill Adeline, to save herself and Espectra, Tattiana's soft side couldn't help itself but creep within, and make her try the last card for a pacifistic end.

"It doesn't have to end like this.", she began. "I faced ghosts that didn't have a mind, but you can think. And speak. However, this Hydrangea person is, you must tell them that-"

" _Shut up, mortal!_ ", Adeline interrupted Tattiana, with pure rage. " _You'll never be able to save this town! Bow down to the will of Hydrangea! A mere mortal like-_ "

She stopped speaking, when the broom stabbed right in her chest, the fire slowly catching up with it. The words were interrupted with screams, as she burnt. A blinding light, coming out of her mouth and eyeballs, covered Tattiana's vision, as she slowly lost consciousness.

* * *

...sitting. In a lap. That's where Tattiana's recovering consciousness could feel she was sitting in. Then, as her vision recovered, she realized she was inside a car, with her father and mother in the front seats.

"W-what?", Tattiana mouthed, blushing, as she checked her satchel, to find it closed.

"Welcome back, sleepyhead!", Scott greeted his unconscious middle sister.

"What happened?", Tattiana asked, confused.

"It was doper scary...and bloody minging, sis!", Natasha began. "We all suddenly blacked out, like, really got unconscious. But we suddenly woke up and...you were still asleep! End result: it went all to pot, I had to carry you back into the car, and say an untimely bye to your mates."

"It's okay, dear. We understand a ride might give a fainting-level fear.", Ms. Sewell sympathetically said.

"N-no, I wasn't scared, I!-", Tattiana tried to protest, but remembered about Adeline...and how nobody would believe a ghost mysteriously knocked everyone out. "...touché?"

The whole family laughed with innocent amusement at Tattiana's awkward comment, causing an eye-roll of their middle child, as they drove back home.

* * *

**_In an unknown castle throne room..._ **

" _Mistress of the Ghouls and most terrible Liches!_ ", one of Adeline's horses, that managed to survive her destruction, said, bowing down to a figure in a throne overshadowed by curtains. " _My controller, Adeline, was destroyed. By a mere human girl. But she wasn't alone; she had the aid of the Phantom Princess herself!_ "

" _No need for more words._ ", a booming, feminine voice, said. The curtains fell off to reveal the figure sitting on the throne, and the owner of the voice.

An inhumanly slim figure, with snow-white skin, black hair, a dark gray mask, a dark gray helmet with a dull purple strip, green lipstick, and a dress with gray, blue, purple and black colors. Her mouth's lips were never close together, showing her teeth, and her arms and fingers were long and sharp. She had a bouquet of black hydrangeas in one of her hands, and the other hand was serving as support for her chin.

" _Now, she has gone too far. And I, Hydrangea, will finally show why_ I _should be the rightful queen of the phantoms._ ", she calmly continued.


End file.
